Collar clasp



' June 20, 1939. L. MADISON 2,162,959

COLLAR CLASP Filed June 20, 1936 lNVENTOR 100/8 MAD/SON ATTORNEYPatented June 20, 1939 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to collar clasps. It is particularly directed toa clasp for adjacent edges of a collar and located beneath the knot of afourin-hand tie on said collar.

An object of this invention is to provide a collar clasp of thecharacter described, having means to receive the adjacent edges of thecollar and means for .clamping said edges after the latter have beeninserted into the clasp, the construction being such that the clampingmeans will remain in clamped condition until manually released.

A further object of this invention is to provide a collar clasp of thecharacter described, having highly improved means for drawing the edgesof a collar together.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a neat, compactand durable collar clasp of the character described, which shall berelatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble and manipulate,and which shall yet be practical and. eflicient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the variouspossible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a collar clasp embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the clasp shown in Fig. 1, with parts incross-section;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of a collar clasp embodying theinvention and illustrating a modified construction; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, l designates a collar claspembodying the invention for engaging the adjacent edges of a collar andusually located beneath the knot of the four-inhand tie on said collar.The clasp H3 comprises a curved member symmetrical about the midportionthereof. Said member II is formed adjacent the outer ends thereof and onthe outer surface thereof with serrated portions |2 for the purposehereinafter appearing.

Attached to the mid-portion of the member I, as by looped strap I4, is amember l5 symmetrical about the mide-portion thereof and having acentral oilset portion I6 contacting the member 5 i. Said member i5 issubstantially of the same length as the member H and has on oppositesides of the mid-portion l6 thereof, portions parallel to the outer endsof member II. It will be noted that the loop I4 is disposed about theportion I6 of the member l5 and the mid-portion of the member and firmlyattaches said member H to said member I5. There is thus formed betweenthe member Ill and the portions ll of the member l5, slots l8 into whichmay be inserted the adjacent edges of a collar. The slots is arepreferably sufiiciently wide to permit the edges of the collar to bereadily inserted without crimping or pinching the collar.

Means is provided for clamping the inserted portions of the collar tothe clasp. To this end, each portion ll of the member I5 is formed witha through slot and with a vertical groove 2| of curved cross-section onthe outer surface there- I of adjacent the inner end of the slot. Avertical pin 22 is disposed adjacent the outer end of each of saidslots. Pivoted to each pin 22 and extending through the slot 20, is alever 23 having a vertical curved handle portion 24 at one end adapted 1to be received within the groove 2|. The lever 23 has on the side of theaxis thereof, opposite to the side on which the handle 24 is located, aprojection 25 projecting into the slot Hi When the handle 24 is withinthe groove 2|. When the levers 23 are moved to positions at right anglesto the portions if in the member l5, no portion of the levers projectsinto the slot l8. Thus, before inserting the edges of a collar into theslots l8, the levers 23 are moved to the position shown in full lines atthe right of Fig. 2, to clear the slots and permit insertion of thecollar edges thereinto. After the collar edges have been inserted intothe slots, the levers 23 may be swung or pivoted inwardly to bring thehandle portions 24 thereof into the grooves 2|, the portions 25 movinginto the slots l8 and pressing the collar edges against the serratedportions |2 for firmly ripping the collar edges.

It will be noted that when the levers are in gripping position, therewill be pressure on the projection 25 in such direction that the leverswill remain in closing position, as shown on the left of Fig. 2. When itis desired to remove the clasp from the collar, the levers are swungoutwardly about their axes to release the collar edges.

It will be noted that the groove 2| permits the handles 24 to be engagedby a finger nail to facilitate manipulation of the levers. Furthermore,

the handles 24 preferably project somewhat above and below the portionsll of the member l5 to further facilitate the manipulation of thelevers.

In Figs. 3 and 4, there is illustrated a modified form of the invention.The clasps Illa shown in Figs. 3 and 4 comprise a pair of similar,symmetrically disposed members 30, having parallel spaced portions 3|and outwardly extending curved portions 32. The portions 3| are formedwith aligned, oppositely threaded openings 33 receiving therethrough aturnbuckle screw 32 provided with oppositely threaded end portionshaving conical ends 39. A finger wheel 35 is fixed on the middle of thescrew. The bottom ends of the portions 3| are formed with curved grooves36, slidably receiving a bar 31 of curved cross-section. Said bar has atthe outer ends thereof, upwardly extending arms 31 formed with conicalsockets 38 on the inner surfaces thereof, receiving conical ends 39 ofthe screw 34.

It will now be understood that as the wheel 35 is rotated, the members30 will be moved toward or away from each other, depending upon thedirection of rotation. Extending upwardly from the member 31 anddisposed between the handle 35 and the portions 3| of the members 30,are a pair of upstanding arms 40, preferably having grooves 4| of curvedcross-section at their upper ends, forming half bearings for the screw34.

The portions 32 of the members 30 each have a longitudinal slot 45 toreceive an edge of a collar. The provision of the slot 45 divides eacharm 32 into spaced parallel portions 46 and 41. The portion 46 has onthe inner surface thereof and adjacent the outer end thereof, a serratedportion 48. Each portion 41 is provided with a through slot 50. A pin 5!crosses said slot at one end; and a curved groove 48 is formed onportion 41 adjacent the other end of said slot. Pivoted within each slot50 is a lever 23a similar to lever 23 and likewise formed withprojections for pressing the collar edges against the serrated surfacesor portions 48.

It will now be understood that the levers 23a are first opened to permitthe edges of the collar to be inserted into the slots 45. The levers arethen swung inwardly to closing or gripping position, and the handwheel35 is then rotated to adjust the distance between the collar edges.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which theseveral objects of this invention are achieved, and which is welladapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new my desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A collar clasp comprising a pair of similar, symmetrically disposedmembers, having parallel portions and outwardly extending portions, saidparallel portions being formed with aligned oppositely threadedopenings, a turnbuckle screw extending through said openings and havingoppositely threaded end portions engaging the threads of said openings,a finger wheel fixed to the center of said screw, a member havingsliding engagement with said parallel portions and having arms at theends thereof rotatably engaging the ends of said screw, the outwardlyextending portions of said members being formed with slots to receivethe adjacent edges of a collar, and levers pivoted on said portions andadapted to clampingly engage collar edges inserted into said slots.

2. A collar clasp, comprising a member, a pair of symmetrically disposedmembers slidably and non-rotatably mounted thereon and having oppositelythreaded openings, a turn-buckle screw rotatably and non-slidablymounted on said first member and having oppositely threaded portionsengaging within said oppositely threaded openings, a finger wheel fixedto the mid portion of said turn-buckle screw, said pair of members beingslotted to receive edge portions of a collar, and levers pivoted to saidmembers and adapted to clamp said edge portions within said slots.

LOUIS MADISON.

